EAST PEORIA — Unless the cost to build a new City Hall comes in significantly more than a $2 million estimate, the City Council is prepared to move ahead with new construction in the Levee District rather than a fix up of its current building.

By a 4-1 vote Tuesday, the council approved $110,000 to hire the architectural firm PCM+D to provide the design and prepare construction bid documents that will determine the cost for construction of a new City Hall. Commissioner Chad Joos was the lone no vote.

“This is the first step toward a new City Hall,” said Commissioner Gary Densberger. “(The architects) will further flesh out the cost of the project and define its needs.”

The new City Hall would be built on the eastern side of the new Fondulac District Library. The council already is meeting in its new chambers in the shared space of that building off West Washington Street.

The idea behind the decision to build new and not renovate the old was written into the ordinance the council approved.

“The City Council hereby finds that the significant cost to refurbish and update the current City Hall building is financially imprudent,” the ordinance read.

Joos voted no, because he said he wasn’t sure that was true. He called the administration’s prepared comparison between the two options “propaganda” for a new City Hall. He also said he was disappointed that a more detailed list of repair priorities at the old City Hall never was satisfactorily provided.

“A prioritization of repairs is not a wish list for making the old building brand new,” Joos said. “Just a way of looking at the top two or three (priorities).”

The plan to pay for the $2 million building includes selling both the old library the city now owns and the current City Hall for about $1 million. Both have potential buyers. The second million would come from turning the two government buildings into property-taxpaying businesses, and from sales tax revenues in new commercial spaces in those buildings. Because all of the money wouldn’t be available at once, it would be likely that the city would have to take out short-term loans to pay for construction of the new City Hall, said City Attorney Dennis Triggs.

In other action, the council:

>> Authorized construction work with P.A. Atherton Inc. and engineering services with Patrick Meyer & Associates for $554,857 for erosion control projects across the city. FEMA would pay $334,551 of the total.

>> Allocated $100,000 from the Gaming Fund to pay toward the cost of engineering services for the potential reconstruction of the Camp Street/River Road intersection. Current thought is to replace the busy intersection with a roundabout.

Page 2 of 2 - >> Approved a three-year payment plan totalling $806,944 to the Illinois Department of Transportation for the city’s part of the Summit Drive Extension Project.

>> Authorized the use of a $250,000 gift to the city from the estate of Peg Bahnfleth, who passed away last year, for sculptor Bob Emser to create a large sculpture for the Civic Plaza that is currently under development in the Levee District.

Scott Hilyard can be reached at 686-3244 or by email at shilyard@pjstar.com. Follow @scotthilyard on Twitter.